On feasting and fitness

This post is from the Scotia Sea on 26 April 2017

Sunrise on 24 April 2017 from the Orkney Passage region of the Southern Ocean. This beautiful orange sky was a welcome sight after many days of overcast and gray.

Some of us are feeling a bit guilty due to the fair weather these past few days.  Well, in fact we are not feeling that guilty. Perhaps we just anticipate the need for payback. Indeed, we thought payback would start today, with forecasts indicating a major storm to our north.  But the storm appears to be mostly near South America, possibly not extending too far into our path in the Scotia Sea region of the Southern Ocean.  We will likely experience swells starting tomorrow, which can be huge and will disturb sleep and science.  But we are hopeful that the bulk of the storm’s energy will remain elsewhere. 

The sun revealed itself yesterday morning and all day today. The night watch had prime viewing for two spectacular sunrises. Especially after so many weeks of “black and white” scenery in the Southern Ocean, the presence of sun and blue feel like a spring morning after a tough long winter.  Don’t get me wrong, I have been in awe of the winds, waves, and very interesting weather down here.  But a day or two with sunshine go a long way towards getting me through the inevitable next round of winds, waves, and overcast. 

One thing of note about the sky in this part of the world: when the clouds clear, there are no signs of airplane contrails.  Rather, the sky is 100% natural. This sort of free and clear sky is rare on the planet these days.

 

Humpback fluke with the sun shimmering off the water.  Note the drops of water on the fluke.

Another few days of science, then steaming north to Montevideo

We just completed our penultimate scientific measurement, consisting of an extended tow-yo CTD along a section in the Scotia Sea, and a single VMP station to fill in one that we missed earlier due to weather.  The tow-yo CTDs have revealed some intriguing oceanographic features that will undoubtedly occupy brain cells for years to come.

Our final critical task is to recover Kurt’s moorings deployed at the start of the cruise (see post on 22 March).  That work should take about half a day once we get to the location, which is about six hours from here in fair weather.  But as mentioned above, the weather, including the swells, will need to cooperate.  We have a couple extra days buffer, which we may need. On the other hand, if the weather cooperates, we may have time to do a bit more tow-yos after Kurt’s mooring is recovered.

Feasting on the ship

As I mentioned in on the 7 April post, food on the ship has been wonderful. We are incredibly well fed.  The cooks and stewards who take care of us are a regular part of our days, keeping the food coming even when we have odd hours of work and when the ship rocks and rolls during swells and storms.  We are incredibly grateful for their nonstop efforts. 

Those of the crew that keep us fed and sorted. Top left: Chris, the baker, preparing some new bread for the day. Chris baked Sonya's birthday cake, as mentioned on the 16 April post. Top centre: Chief cook Paddy in the ship's kitchen, preparing for the day's meals. Imagine organizing food for an eight week cruise with 54 crew, scientists, and engineers all needing to remain healthy and satisfied. That is Paddy's job in a nutshell. Top right: Jimmy, one of the kitchen staff and ship stewards.Lower left: Roger, who along with the other stewards Winnie and Derek, serves food for the scientists and officers. Lower centre: Winnie, Paddie, and Derek in the officers/scientists mess Lower right: Lloyd, the ship's purser. Lloyd keeps things moving on the ship, making sure all our paperwork is tidy. He keeps track of the many needs of entering and leaving a port and how people come and go from the ship. He is famous (at least in my mind) for saying ''buy one get one'' when I asked about any bargains available in the ship's store.

Fitness on the ship

I mentioned in the 7 April post, Helen Jones, the ship's medical doctor, leads a fitness class each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  Her “Circuit” classes have been a great way for some of us to remain healthy and energized in a group setting.  A group meets for the roughly one hour class, with folks coming and going according to schedules.  It has been a great means for me to retain a clean conscious as I feast during meal times.    

 

Helen, Jack, Paul, Carson, Chris, Rob, Eleanor, and Stephen at the end of a fitness class on 26 April.

Andris (chief engineer) and Andy (from WHOI), are our resident strong men. They weight lift next to the Circuit training.

 

Feasting in the ocean 

Inevitably, many of these blog posts mention marine life.  This one is no exception. Today we had perhaps the best whale (and penguin) watching yet during the cruise. No matter how many whales we see, their presence continues to generate enthusiasm and excitement. Today was especially wonderful as the weather was perfect (-9C and sunny) for viewing whales as they swam around the ship and out to the horizon.     

Two humpback whales feeding near the ship on 26 April. As a humpback rises for a breath, it expresses a spray cloud into the air.  It also releases a sound like a deep and pure belch that nearly causes my body to vibrate, especially when it happens right next to the ship.  Their presence is simply amazing to experience. 

The whale watching started when I was head deep into a research paper. I vaguely heard  Eleanor announce that the humpbacks had returned, and I then watched as folks started going outside for close viewing. I played it cool, pretending to have “seen it all” and thus decided to remain in a “seriously” mental state.  About 10 minutes later Christian came back inside, urging me to check out the amazing display of charismatic Southern Ocean megafauna (i.e., whales!).  I finally gave in, thus putting on my coat and grabbing the camera.  

Usually when I go outside for whale watching, the I need to wait a few minutes for the whales to come around to within view. Yet on this occasion, as soon as I walked onto deck I saw about five or six humpback whales nearly within spitting distance from the ship. Among the whales, we also saw heaps of penguins swimming around and diving near the ship. This display of ocean life was something splendid to behold.  

The whales feasted on krill around the ship, doing so for about an hour. After taking heaps of photos, I became a bit frustrated as I too needed to feast as lunch was being served. Yet the whales, for some reason, did not keep to my schedule! 

Southern right whale fluke, sea, and sky in the Scotia Sea on 26 April. A few southern rights came around to feed after the group of humpbacks went elsewhere.